Ultrasensitive micro-scale parity-time-symmetric ring laser gyroscope

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Optical Engineering
• Quantum Optics

Background:

• Laser gyroscopes are crucial for navigation and sensing.
• Current technologies face limitations in sensitivity and miniaturization.
• Exceptional points in non-Hermitian systems offer unique physical properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a new scheme for ultrasensitive laser gyroscopes.
• To leverage exceptional points for enhanced sensitivity to rotation.
• To explore the potential for miniature on-chip laser gyroscopes.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the physics of exceptional points in a laser gyroscope setup.
• Analyzing the rotation-induced frequency splitting in the proposed system.
• Investigating the dependence of sensitivity on gyration speed and device radius.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated that frequency splitting is proportional to the square root of gyration speed (Ω).
• Achieved orders of magnitude enhancement in sensitivity to low angular rotations.
• Showed that maximum sensitivity is independent of the ring radius.

Conclusions:

• The proposed scheme offers a pathway to ultrasensitive laser gyroscopes.
• Exceptional points provide a significant advantage for detecting small rotations.
• This work enables the development of new miniature ring laser gyroscopes on chip.